Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, addresses representatives as he convenes the House for the annual Organization Day at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013.

House Speaker Brian Bosma is wrong. I am not the media. I am a Hoosier who is voicing his values.

Bosma mistakenly classified the volumes of published statements against the proposed amendment to the Indiana constitution to ban gay marriage as stoked by "the media."

I am not the media. Rob Smith at Eli Lilly, Shannon Kiely-Heider at Cummins Inc., Michael McRobbie at Indiana University, Brian Casey at DePauw University, and Gregory Hess at Wabash College are not the media.

By claiming that the numerous voices speaking out across the state against this unjust legislation are "the media," Bosma is asking Hoosiers to fall for a rhetorical device known as framing. He is stripping us of our individual voices and instead casting us into a collective abstraction that is often the brunt of political bias: "the media."

We are not the media. We are individuals and representatives of organizations and institutions who are voicing our values against an immoral law.

Bosma is also mistaken in claiming that the debate over HJR 6 "is not the most important issue for us by far." In fact gay rights issues are the focus of unceasing national debate.

Sixteen states have approved marriage equality laws, most recently Illinois and Hawaii. The U.S. Supreme Court has found the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The U.S. Senate recently voted to prohibit workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians. National, state and institutional polls have measured the conscience of the public on these issues.

Indeed, gay rights issues - including marriage equality - are the most important human rights issues being debated in the United States since the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

For the House Speaker to downplay the importance of this critical legislation is irresponsible at best and unethical at worst. A wise politician would gauge the urgency of any issue by listening to the voices being raised for or against that issue. For the House Speaker to dismiss the voices of concerned Hoosiers as being a manifestation stoked by the media is disingenuous and condescending.

The huge amount of negative opinion expressed about HJR 6 attests to its potential for damaging Indiana's ability to compete globally for talented workers, for qualified faculty, for gifted students, for quality of life, and for the meaning of what it is to be a Hoosier.

William J. Wilhelm

Professor

Scott College of Business

Indiana State University

Terre Haute

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Bosma wrong about gay marriage amendment

House Speaker Brian Bosma is wrong. I am not the media. I am a Hoosier who is voicing his values.